President for modernising beekeeping to boost yield, export

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the beekeeping industry to adopt modern beekeeping and marketing techniques to boost yield and export, in addition to training people affiliated with beekeeping on modern lines to help them increase productivity.

Talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Beekeepers and Honey Dealers Association (APBHDA) on Wednesday, the president said that owing to good quality standards, the country’s honey has the potential to hit international markets on at large scale.

The president asked the Ministry of Commerce to devise an effective marketing strategy to brand and sell the honey besides, expanding the outreach of the product to other countries.

It is pertinent to mention here that commercial beekeeping is fast becoming a thriving business in rural areas of the country. According to the All Pakistan Beekeepers Trade and Exporters Association (APBTEA), besides providing new job opportunities to thousands of men and women, the business is helping the country earn foreign exchange through exports, mainly to Middle Eastern countries.

According to the association, around $6 million in foreign exchange is earned annually through honey exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Pakistan currently produces around 7,500 metric tonmes of honey annually, with more than 8,000 beekeepers rearing exotic species in one million beehives, according to the government’s Honeybee Research Institute in Islamabad (HBRI).

In the financial year 2018-2019 (FY19), Pakistan exported honey worth Rs966 million ($5.8 million), about Rs260 million more than FY18, according to the institute.

Moreover, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan launched the “Billion Tree Honey Initiative” in December last year with the aim of increasing honey production to 70,000 metric tonnes a year.

The government estimates the project will help generate around Rs43 billion ($268 million) for the national economy and provide about 87,000 green jobs.